Perform an internet search on the phrase “David Bowie Paper Doll” and what do you get? Hint: it’s not a cover of the Mills Brothers hit. David Bowie paper dolls are proliferating in astonishing numbers.

Elusive designer Vodka Caramel’s Amazing 70’s Bowie Paper Doll celebrates some of our hero’s most glamorous looks, but saddles him with the crotch of a Ken doll and no fewer than four interchangeable heads! And we thought the Thin White Paper Doll’s crew socks were an indignity.

Points to Serge Baeken above for recognizing the paper doll possibilities in the Pierrot costume Bowie sported in the video for 1980’s “Ashes to Ashes.” (Fun fact: Bowie made his theatrical debut---and wrote the music for---a bizarre 1968 pantomime about Pierrot.... His character's name was "Cloud")

Artist Claudia Varosio’s entry in the Bowie paper doll stakes could pass as illustrations for a 1970’s children’s book. Title? Boys Keep Swinging, after a cut from Bowie’s 1979 Lodger album. Chaste young girls would love the t-shirted, non-threatening Bowie.

The comparatively conservative, full-faced Bowie above comes to us via Swedish family magazine Året Runt. I may never learn another word of Swedish, but thanks to David Bowie, I can now say paper doll (klippdockor). In appreciation, allow me to share another example of David Bowie klippdockor…

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Open Culture editor Dan Colman scours the web for the best educational media. He finds the free courses and audio books you need, the language lessons & movies you want, and plenty of enlightenment in between.